Tag: mental health wellness

“I’m a freelancer”. It is something you are likely to hear more and more as you meet people. In the last few years, it isn’t just the ‘starving artists’ that is a free spirit, you’ll find a free-spirited account, assistant and graphic designers. There is a lot of flexibility with freelancing and home businesses, and it doesn’t work for everyone. But there are plenty of basic, and great perks. If you aren’t already freelance, maybe these are something for you to consider.

No Commute

Ahhh the joy of waking up and rushing to grab a train that is heaving with people, then run from that platform to a bus stop – said no one, ever. Many freelancers never have to leave their home, unless they choose to meet up with local clients. Stilling bumper to bumper during rush hour is said to raise your blood sugar and increase your cholesterol levels.

Zero commute = 100% satisfaction. Not entirely separate is that if you choose to travel, it can be anywhere. Peak season, off-peak, far away, backpacking… the list goes on. If you have a wifi connection, you can work, heard of the digital nomad? It’s not as uncommon as you think.

Be The Boss

This one seems to be the big winner when it comes to freelancing. Don’t like a client? Then you can terminate the contract. Don’t want a particular type of work? Then you simply don’t have to do it. Working with a terrible boss will have a negative impact on how you see what you do and your value in the company.

Forever Learning

When you first that the chances are you will need some help, getting things like your hardware, software, social media, appointments, and even some of the work that you chose to take on. While you are learning to be a human swiss army knife, you can also hire in companies on a long term basis that can help you tackle specific tasks. Appearing as a more prominent firm is simple when you have the right people in place. Managed IT services from Safebit, a good virtual assistant, and some automated customer services applications can help you manage your enterprise while you learn how to calculate your taxes, and work in and on your business.

Mental Health

When you work for yourself, if you feel that you are going to burn out, or that you can’t effectively perform your duties, the chances are you can take the day to yourself to rest, reset and recharge. In an office, there are often policies and procedures in place, but that might not be enough. You can control your workload down to the last minute during the week and only take more when you want to.

Taking short breaks during the day, when you feel you need one, not just because that is the scheduled break time is beneficial to both you and your work. Taking a proper time out for lunch, and even a nap can get your rested and refreshed ready to take on the rest of your work.

For many, the idea of working from home is synonymous with freedom. The typical cliché is to work from your bed in your best PJs. In truth, the work life of home-based business owners couldn’t be further from that. Indeed, when you remove the office environment, you can encounter a variety of new and complex challenges that affect both your work routine and your everyday lifestyle at different levels. Perhaps, for home-based workers, the real path to success is to learn how to identify and manage these obstacles before they impact on their health, productivity and earning abilities.

The liberating world of pajama work is nothing but a rose-tinted cliché. Indeed, to benefit from the freedom of your remote arrangement, you need discipline and effective management of tasks and processes. Here are the top 5 obstacles you need to be aware of and prepared to address as you establish your business.

#1. Where does work end?

Picture the scene. Your work commute is only a few seconds, as you make your way from the bedroom to the home office. You don’t even need to worry about what to wear or whether or not to do your hair. Admittedly, while working from home can shorten your prep time in the morning, it comes at a significant disadvantage. You lack closure at the end of the day. While when you’re office-based, you need to leave the office to get back home physically, it’s not something you need to do when you live and work in the same place. Consequently, you can struggle to leave work behind at the end of the day. Sticking to a scheduled time in a separate space is a difficult discipline to develop. Indeed, many home-based workers are tempted to stop working when they’re done for the day. If you’re running a small business, it’s fair to say that you may never be done. Instead, for your sanity, stick to fixed working hours.

#2. Thinking you have to do it by yourself

We get it. You’ve launched your own business, and, consequently, you need to run it alone until you can afford to hire a team. Multitasking is a common approach for home-based business owners, but it’s not half as effective as you might think. For a start, the brain is unable to multitask successfully. Additionally, multitasking implies that you master most business elements and can happily perform all tasks. In truth, you need to delegate some of your jobs if you want to keep your business afloat. Successful solo entrepreneurs rely on outsourcing advisory services to identify areas that can be delivered by external suppliers – such as IT. You can find experts to advise and guide you through your outsourcing journey.

#3. Feeling lonely and sad

Entrepreneurship is a famously solitary journey. For home-based entrepreneurs, the feeling of loneliness can be overwhelming and lead to serious cases of anxiety and depression. With almost a third of sole traders and solo entrepreneurs claiming that isolation is a big problem, you can’t ignore the way working alone affects your mood. You need to create a network of connections you can rely on at the start of your journey. Whether you meet people through online communities or you surround yourself with like-minded individuals who are experiencing the same thing than you, is up to you.

#4. Staying on top of your health

Contrary to the common belief, being at home doesn’t mean you’ve got more time. On the contrary, home-based workers struggle with time management and tend to work longer hours which makes it difficult for them to focus on their health. In an office, you can plan a visit to the gym after working hours. But when you work from home, you might lack movement. However, if you can create a work schedule, you can make time for your workouts. More importantly, you need to stock healthy food only, as one gets easily tempted by sweet treats — if they’re readily available.

#5. Missing the latest trends

Regular training and business talks are an everyday occurrence in an office. At home, keeping up with the latest industry trends can prove difficult – especially as your time is precious. However, to stay relevant in your market, you need to use smart tools to update your knowledge regularly. Google Trends can help you to monitor what your audience is searching and to identify trends on time. Something as simple as tracking social media mentions can provide enlightening insights on what people are talking about.

Working from home is a disruption to the typical office environment. However, it’s a disruption that comes at a cost, your mental and physical health. Looking after yourself and using smart strategies and tools can ensure you remain on top of your field at all times.

When the New Year rolls around there’s always a lot of talk of New Year’s Resolutions and the changes you can make throughout the year to come. Whilst many people’s targets are often specific and focus on certain aspects of their life, other people tend to make much bigger and well-rounded goals.

A common large goal among resolution-makers tends to be to ‘become a better person’. Whilst it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re an awful person for making this goal, it does mean you can work on several different areas of your life – all of which are aimed at the things you can do to make the world a better place.

With that in mind, here are 12 things you can do to help you become a better person:

Volunteer For A Worthy Cause

One of the best ways to contribute to the community is to volunteer for a worthy cause. Almost everyone will have a charity that they favor, so finding a way to volunteer for them on a regular basis will really help you feel as though you’re doing something worthwhile. Whether you help by volunteering in their charity store or helping out at events, there are so many different ways you can get involved alongside your day to day job.

2. Start Donating To Charity

If you’re not able to spare the time to volunteer for your favorite charity, there are lots of other ways you can help – including donating money. Whilst you can simply submit a donation online every month, it’s often much more fun to get involved and do some creative fundraising. From sponsored silences to fitness challenges, you can be sponsored for practically anything!

3. Take Unwanted Health And Beauty Items To A Womens/Homeless Shelter

If you have lots of unused health and beauty items (like shampoo, conditioner and body wash) that you don’t plan on using, donating them to a women’s or homeless shelter is a great way to help those that are less fortunate than you. Although they may receive monetary donations throughout the year, they don’t often receive the important items they need on a day to day basis.

If you find you don’t ever have any health and beauty items spare but you still want to help, try purchasing extra every time you purchase your own and start a collection.

4. Start Shopping Locally

Small businesses appreciate every single customer they can get, however, they will find it difficult to compete with the larger well-known stores that are EVERYWHERE. If you know of a small business that sells the same products you would normally buy from a supermarket, try shopping with them once or twice a week. Not only is it more environmentally friendly, but it will also make the business owners day.

5. Practice Self Care Whenever You Can

Becoming a better person doesn’t necessarily mean you only have to do things for others, as looking after yourself is important too. Try practicing self-care whenever you get the opportunity. Whether it’s taking a hot bath at the end of the long day or spending a few hours before bed reading a book.

6. Change Your Career To Something That Focuses On Helping Others

If you’re serious about making a change to become a better person than you could always consider changing your career to something that focuses on helping others. Whether you want to become a nurse, a doctor or teacher – finding the right job for you can be incredibly rewarding, even if you have to go through years of training and education beforehand. If you want to get into nursing, you can pursue an online fnp program.

7.Start Reading More (Both Fiction And Non-Fiction)

Another way to become a better person is to constantly be doing things that improve your mental health – a great example of this is reading. Whether you enjoy a good fantasy novel or prefer getting cosy with a self-help book, reading is great for the mind.

8. Take Part In Meat Free Mondays

If you want to start doing your part to help look after the environment but you’re not ready for the commitment of becoming vegan or vegetarian, there’s always the option to take part in Meat Free Monday’s. The idea behind this international trend is that whilst one person going meat-free one day a week won’t make much difference, thousands of people making a small change will.

All you have to do is go every Monday without eating meat and you’ll be making a huge difference! For recipe ideas, you can visit this site here.

9. Try Going Vegan or Vegetarian

If you want to make more of a commitment than going meat-free one day a week, there’s always the option to go fully-fledged vegan or vegetarian. The difference this can make to the environment has been proven many times, as well as it being known to improve physical and mental health.

Whilst it’s not an easy feat to take, it will certainly be a rewarding one.

10. Start Listening To Other’s More

Although it may seem as though you listen to what the people around you are saying, it’s easy to get distracted. With everyone relying on their smartphones for every little bit of information, it’s not long before a conversation will turn to ‘searching on your phones’ for something and getting carried away. Try spending time with loved ones and putting the tech away, you’ll be surprised where the conversation can take you.

11. Make Time For Those That Are Important To You

Everyone has a busy life, but spending time with the people that mean the most to you is important. You never know what can happen and whilst work may be important, it shouldn’t be your whole life.

Make sure you’re making the time to see those that are important to you as often as you can.

12. Do Things That Make You Happy

Finally, the most valuable thing you can do to help you become a better person is to do things that make you happy. Having a happy mind is the first step to improving all aspects of your life, so it’s definitely the best place to start.

Do you plan on becoming a better person now that we’ve entered into a new year? Let me know how you plan on changing in the comments below.

According to this article, Millennials are spending an insane amount to stay in shape.

Traditional gyms and fitness centers aren’t up in membership; instead there is a demand for more community-based, functional and wellness centered classes.

The definition of staying is shape has changed too. Reducing stress, being more productive at work and mental health are the main benefits.

Speciality classes are more expensive than working out by yourself at the gym, but it’s also more engaging, fun and keeps you accountable for progress.

There’s always been a huge push for professional development in your career, but investing in your body may outweigh anything you can learn from a book/online.

Take for instance young moms. Their ability to bounce back to pre-pregnancy form is exceptional. Groups like Stroller Strides, SoulCycle and CrossFit become even more attractive for lifestyle goals.

With more information comes better efficiency. Millennials are realizing taking care of your body early is the best prevention from illness/injury. Being proactive is a mindset that prepares you best for the future and Millennials are embracing it.

Like anything else trends come and go, so this fitness craze can change over time, but for now businesses should be aware of it and adapt to health, wellness and athleisure as a way of life.